Enzyme expert exposes evolution’s error

Dr Matti Leisola obtained his D.Sc. (Tech) in biotechnology from the Helsinki (Finland’s capital) University of Technology in 1979. His extensive career includes winning the Latsis Prize
for a significant young researcher in 1987 in Switzerland, being Director of Research (1988–1997) in an international Biotech company, and most recently Dean of the Faculty of Chemical and
Materials Sciences at the new Finnish Aalto University. He has published over 120 papers, mainly on enzyme research, authored 20 articles in books or conference proceedings, and obtained six
patents. Dr Leisola’s scientific articles are cited about 1300 times in the scientific literature.

Many of our readers would remember Dr Matti Leisola from CMI’s Darwin documentary, The Voyage that Shook the World
(2009). But he is much better known to the scientific community as an expert in his area of enzymes. Dr Leisola explains:

“I like to call enzymes ‘the tools of life’. They are a type of protein—a macromolecule (large molecule) made out of specifically arranged amino acids. They are
life’s catalysts—that is, they greatly speed up specific chemical reactions of living cells. Enzymes recognize, convert, transfer, transport, oxidize, reduce, join molecules together
and break them apart.”

The instructions to build them are encoded on our DNA. Dr Leisola explains that just as the Finnish language has 29 letters,1 so the
enzyme language has 20 biochemical ‘letters’ (amino acids), each of which is coded by three-letter ‘words’ in the DNA language (which has four different letters). For
example, ‘Matti Leisola’ is a specific combination of 12 letters and one space. “This combination is so specific that it helps anybody to find me out of all the people in the
world since no one else I know of has this same combination. An average enzyme contains about 300 biochemical letters. This makes each enzyme very specialized for a given task.”

stockphoto.com

A model of the enzyme xylanase—a complex machine made up of precise sequence of amino acids

For example, Matti’s group studied an enzyme called xylanase (see diagram right). It breaks down one of the most abundant carbohydrate polymers on earth called xylan, found in plant cell
walls. This fibre makes up about 30% of the birch tree. The xylanase enzyme contains about 200 amino acids. Its protein code is a sentence that means: ‘degrade xylan’. Mammals lack
this enzyme, so they can’t digest xylan.

Using a different letter for each different amino acid, the protein ‘sentence’ can be written as:

As with all enzymes, it is this sequence which enables this molecular machine to carry out its task. There is nothing about the chemistry or the physics of the amino acids that make up xylanase
that will cause them to be ordered in the correct way. The order—the information—is imposed upon the matter via the sequence in which the amino acids are assembled, under
programmed instructions within the cell.

Rejecting evolution

We interviewed Dr Leisola because he is known as a skeptic of molecules-to-man evolution, which he calls “story-telling”. But he was not always skeptical, as he explains:

“I believed the standard story till I was about 22 years old. I used it (as I then thought) as a powerful weapon to argue against the Christian God. Without realizing it, I was a typical
product of the western naturalistic educational system and I certainly wanted to remain autonomous, and actually hated the idea of God interfering with my life.”

But he changed, thanks to his girlfriend Marja—now his wife:

“She became a Christian and I was suddenly faced with the reality of her changed life and new values. This led me to study the evidence for Christianity. The search led me to Christ. I
then wanted to understand how good a weapon Darwinism was against Christianity, and it did not take much effort to realize that it stood on a shaky foundation. I first realized it when studying
biochemistry and the weak efforts to explain the origin of life based on some rudimentary experiments. So it all started with a change in my belief system. Everyone has a belief system and people
use their belief system to interpret the facts; it’s not really about the facts.”

Dr Matti Leiosola and his wife Marja. They have four children and five grandchildren.

His own field of enzyme research strongly argues against evolution and for a designer. He argues that, contrary to common belief, there is no reasonable naturalistic
explanation for the origin of such information-rich functional molecules, or to change one type into another: “It is very difficult to obtain the letter sequence ‘Matti
Leisola’ through a random process. It is far more difficult to obtain the biochemical sentence that specifies ‘xylanase’.” And furthermore, even the simplest living things need over 350 functioning
enzymes2 just as complex as xylanase. For origin-of-life theories, natural selection can’t help explain the origin of the enzymes for life, because natural selection requires self-reproducing entities so can’t be used to explain their origin.3

Matti also points out “the thousands of interrelated and carefully regulated functions in the living world. This is true at many levels: an individual cell, a multicellular organism,
symbiotic relationships, and group intelligence and communication systems of e.g. ants and bees, and the balanced ecosystem. And all these remarkable things are coded for by just the four letters
of DNA. Design begins with a thinking process, and a Mind that can simultaneously plan and execute this vast, tremendously complex holistic system, from the smallest detail to its grand totality,
is completely beyond our limited capacity to understand. We should humbly bow down before such majesty and admit that we are really nothing.
Psalm 92:5 in describing creation says of God, ‘Your
thoughts are very deep.’ The Psalm continues, ‘A fool does not understand this.’”

Real science vs evolution

When Matti first questioned evolution, he was just beginning his scientific career. He would ask his professors how evolution could create biological novelties:

They of course had stories but when it came to mechanisms (which science is all about) of evolution they had no real explanations.

“They of course had stories but when it came to mechanisms (which science is all about) of evolution they had no real explanations. Later I started to present evidence for the limits of
random change in scientific conferences of my own field and till now nobody has disagreed.”

With over a hundred published and widely cited scientific papers, Dr Leisola would be amused at the frequent claim, “No real scientist denies evolution.” But they redefine science
as naturalism, and Matti points out, “A real scientist is searching for truth about nature and not naturalistic explanations.”

“Christianity is the foundation of modern science and explains why we can do science: a rational God created a rational man in his own image so that he is able to understand the creation
with his mind. Indeed, the Creator Jesus Christ is called the Logos (Λόγος
John 1:1–3), and makes sense of this orderly universe and complexity of life. Those believing
in a naturalistic explanation for the origin of life are the ones with a blind faith.”

Bacteria-to-biologist evolution has no bearing on real scientific work, but many claim that mimicking evolution, i.e. random changes and artificial selection, has enabled new enzymes to be
produced.4 However, Dr Leisola is actually an expert in this area,5 and points
out:

“These methods—even when under careful control—do not create anything but minor adaptations or variations on a theme. My research group has, for instance, engineered enzymes
to function better in extreme conditions, and microorganisms to produce novel molecules. But these achievements have a well-designed enzyme to start with, are intelligently controlled, and there
is always a limit to the extent of the change. It’s no wonder that living cells resist random changes because these are almost always downhill.”

Why does creation matter?

Dr Leisola has translated a number of creationist books into Finnish, as well as the script of our Darwin film; and he has also arranged visits to Finland of many overseas creationist
scientists, such as the triple doctorate A.E. Wilder-Smith (1915–1995). So why is this so important?

Creation is fundamental to understanding our position and role in the universe.

Dr Leisola: “One of the big questions all humans face is, ‘Where did we come from?’ The apostle Paul writes in
Romans 1 that God’s invisible attributes are so clearly seen in His works, that
no one has any excuse to deny that He exists. So creation is fundamental to understanding our position and role in the universe.”

It’s also vital for understanding right and wrong. Dr Leisola is active in the area of the ethical implications of biotechnology.6
He agrees with agnostic evolutionary philosopher Michael Ruse, that if evolution were true, then ethics is just an illusion:

“Without absolutes there cannot be any ethical standards. This is clearly seen in the development of our western culture. When Christian consensus is gone the society is helpless in trying
to impose rules on people. More and more people do what they want and fewer and fewer people are asking what is right and what is wrong.”

Matti instead says, following the Apostle Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel—it gives answers to the big questions that no other system gives: what is the origin of universe and
life, what is the basis of the uniqueness of man and morals, and what gives a solid basis for equal worth of all people and the value of an individual. Modern man is confused because he has no
rational answers to these questions.”

Finally, I asked Dr Leisola how he would advise a young Christian wanting to study science:

“The best advice comes from the Bible. Prepare yourself to be always ready to give reasons for your beliefs
(1 Peter 3:15). Be not ashamed of the gospel because it has the answers people
are looking for (Romans 1:16) and be wise as serpents and harmless as doves
(Matthew 10:16). Do not get worried when the world hates you— it is a good
signal—as long as it happens because of Jesus (John 15:18–20).”

Related Articles

Further Reading

References and notes

The Finnish alphabet is like English, except it also contains Å, Ä, Ö as separate letters. Each letter is pronounced, so that the double-t in
“Matti” is pronounced something like in “hot-tip”, and the double k in names like “Erkki” and “Pekka” is pronounced like the middle of
“book-case”. The language itself is not Indo-European but Finno-Ugric, so is very different from most other European languages, and likely from a different Babel family.
Return to text.

The article you just read is free, but the staff time working on it … isn’t. Consider a small gift to keep this site going. Support this site

Comments closed

Readers’ comments

Toby S.,United States, 19 March 2012

Thank you CMI for publishing this article. It is encouraging to read the testimony of such a man as Dr Leisola. I guess we should all be thankful for his lovely wife Marja who first believed into Christ, the Logos who became flesh. I especially appreciate his comment about evolutionists redefining science as naturalism. I encounter this often in talking to unbelievers.

Glenn G.,United Kingdom, 19 March 2012

We are often cut short when telling people about the Lord Jesus. Usually because it is instantly dismissed as a untruth because of the Bible’s conflict with science as taught in schools. If only there were more people teaching that there is a Creator and also if only there was more opportunity, especially in schools and the media, to teach this great truth. May the Lord bless all who are involved in this very important work.

Charles J.,United States, 20 March 2012

God bless this work. As I read this, it came to me that most evolutionist are as ignorant of the science that they profess as they are of the Bible that they attack. This is all the more reason for us to continue to arm ourselves grounded in the Bible and using it to interpret the science.

Bruce B.,New Zealand, 21 March 2012

How encouraging that those studying these elementary aspects of life describe the amino acids and proteins as aspects of words and sentences. It re-inforces our understanding of Jehoshua as the Word of God, bringing Creation into existence through His speech.

john C.,United States, 19 August 2012

“It is very difficult to obtain the letter sequence ‘Matti Leisola’ through a random process. It is far more difficult to obtain the biochemical sentence that specifies ‘xylanase’. And furthermore, even the simplest living things need over 350 functioning enzymes2 just as complex as xylanase. For origin-of-life theories, natural selection can’t help explain the origin of the enzymes for life, because natural selection requires self-reproducing entities so can’t be used to explain their origin.3”

Pretty funny that he is trying to use biological evolution to include abiogenesis, isn’t it? I mean, why would he do that? And furthermore, he confuses natural selection with a random process. Seriously?

Also funny, and at the same time downright ridiculous, is how you and others who pan out this absurd argument turn your head at the fact that most people who make their living studying and teaching the theory of evolution are Christians.

Zzzzzzzz … Nothing new here. Why don't you guys roll up your sleeves and try harder. This is pathetic.

Jonathan Sarfati responds

Actually, nothing new in your response that we haven’t answered many times before, but this is typical of our critics.